Sky Colored Eyes
by Alaena F. Dragonstar
Summary: Ekoda High's new student is the recently returned Kudo Shinichi, but it seems there's more to his arrival than a simple change of schools. There is a new danger lurking, but with all the problems riding on his shoulders, Shinichi might not be able to handle it alone this time. :Future KaiShin:
1. The New Old Detective

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

**Rating**: T

**Genre**: Hurt/Comfort/ Romance/Friendship/Life

**Pairings**: Future Kuroba Kaito x Kudo Shinichi [KaitoxShinichi]

**Other Mainer Characters Include**: Nakamori Aoko, Hakuba saguru, Haibara Ai, Koizumi Akako, Professor Agasa, the police, and maybe others

**Summary**: Ekoda High's new student is the recently returned Kudo Shinichi, but it seems there's more to his arrival than a simple change of schools. There is a new danger lurking, but with all the problems riding on his shoulders, Shinichi might not be able to handle it alone this time.

**Notes**: Okay, so this story is probably going to be on the long side. I actually started it way back around the same time that I started writing Midnight White, but I only recently picked it up again. I hope you enjoy!

**Important: For the purpose of this tory, Kaito does not know that Conan was Shinichi.**

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**Sky Colored Eyes**

1: The New Old Detective

Ekoda High. It was a fairly normal looking school, Shinichi mused. It might be a little smaller than Teitan, with a slightly different schedule that would hopefully allow him time enough to catch up with his studies and graduate this year like he was supposed to. Once again he thanked whatever powers there were in the world for his excellent memory. Without it, making up two years of school in less than one would likely have been impossible. As it was, he'd gone from being ahead of everyone in his class to having to spend most of his time cramming. On the other hand, having so much work to do kept his mind off of other things.

Things like how the people he used to know all looked at him now like he was an alien from outer space since he'd apparently ditched school for two years and had no good reasons he could tell them (they had all expected some kind of big story in the papers or something, but it had never come because some things couldn't be told just yet). He just—didn't _know_ anyone anymore. Then there was how the price he'd ended up paying for getting back to his proper age was the constant threat of fits where it felt like his body was at war with itself. From what Haibara had been able to tell him, that was apparently a pretty good analogy. She was working on a way to help (he had the impression she felt guilty about it, although he'd told her several times that she shouldn't), but so far she hadn't had much luck.

And of course there was Ran and that disastrous reunion where he'd finally told her everything. In retrospect, it might have been easier not to have given her certain details, but he was sick of all the lies, and he'd felt he owed her the truth. She had yelled at him a lot. Demanded to know how he could have let her worry herself sick when he'd been right there the whole time. She'd called him all sorts of uncomplimentary things too. But really, he'd expected that. So he took it all in silence and wondered if it really had been selfish of him to hide it all.

She'd forgiven him in the end, but they'd never be the same again. They had both changed too much. Neither of them were who they had been, and they couldn't see each other the same way again even if they tried. It was better all around not to go there. At least they were on speaking terms again—though he'd be lying if he said it didn't hurt when she looked at him as though she was wondering whether to believe what he'd just told her or not.

But he supposed that was just the price he'd have to pay for the decisions he had made. He had believed they were the right decisions to make at the time after all, and wasn't that the most anyone could do? Of course there were probably things he could have thought out more…things he could have done differently… There always was. The problem, of course, being that no one could know if another path would have been better or worse.

Sometimes he caught himself missing life as Conan.

He'd hated living a lie. And for that reason he hadn't realized how much he'd be losing by leaving that lie behind until he'd done so. He wasn't sure if he regretted it or not. And that scared him when he allowed himself to think about it. That he could have become so attached to a fabrication… What did that say about him? He wasn't sure he really wanted to know, but it couldn't stop his mind from wondering.

Ironic really. Life had almost seemed easier living in hiding.

And he really didn't need to be thinking about that right now. Focus on school; that was the way to go. Get back into the swing of normal life—or at least of whatever normalcy his life was willing to offer him—and leave the unanswerable questions for when he had more time. That wouldn't be for a good long while.

Letting out a quiet sigh, he knocked on the principal's door, waiting for the call to come in before opening it and stepping inside. The principal looked up from his desk and did a double take.

"Can I help you?" he asked a bit hesitantly, still staring at Shinichi like he was fearfully awaiting some kind of explosion.

A bit nonplussed, Shinichi cleared his throat. "My name is Kudo Shinichi."

"Ah." The man's expression cleared and he smiled warmly. "You are transferring here from Teitan, correct?"

Shinichi nodded.

"Well then, I would like to welcome you to Ekoda High."

"Thank you."'

X

"I heard we were getting a new student today," Nakamori Aoko remarked to her friend, Keiko, who nodded.

"Yeah, it seems like all of the new students get put in our class, doesn't it? I wonder who it is."

Aoko was quiet, frowning thoughtfully. She had some idea of who the new student would be, courtesy of her father's recent grumbling, but she wasn't entirely sure. It was probably better not to mention anything until the newcomer arrived.

Over in his own desk, Kuroba Kaito, Ekoda High's infamous magician, eyed Aoko's expression with great interest. He could tell she knew something, but apparently she didn't want to say. And that was…odd. Aoko was generally a very open girl. So what was it that she knew, or thought she knew, that she didn't want to say? Maybe the new student was actually someone she knew. Well, no point wondering about it when he was going to find out in a matter of minutes. In the meantime he had a heist notice to finish planning—mentally, of course. He wasn't stupid or careless enough to write anything down in school.

Just then the door opened and their homeroom teacher walked in. The eyes of the class, however, went straight to the boy who came in with her. Several people jerked around in their seats to give Kaito a long look before turning back to gape at the newcomer. Others burst into whispers. Even Hakuba Saguru couldn't stop himself from staring. He recognized this person.

Kaito did too.

Then the boy turned and bowed politely to the class, introducing himself as "Kudo Shinichi".

X

Kaito leaned back in his seat, idly twirling a pen through his fingers. Great, just what he needed. Another detective in his class to annoy him on his time off. He remembered his brief encounter with this detective all those years ago at the clock tower. That had been a fairly fun night, challenging, but he preferred not to have to deal with detectives when he wasn't working (a state of mind he'd developed largely due to one irritating blonde).

Okay, maybe he wasn't being entirely honest. There was one detective he didn't mind spending off time with, but that detective seemed to have disappeared. He was a bit worried about that. When the kid had first disappeared, he hadn't thought too much about it since word was the squirt had just gone home. It had only been a matter of time after all. But the thing was, he'd done some checking (so that he'd know what country he might have to expect to run into the squirt in on future heists) and no one called Edogawa Conan had left the country in the last few months. Add to that the boy's tendency to get in trouble and it created several worrying possibilities.

He'd made a note to look into the matter when he had more time, but between the massive senior year workload and heists he hadn't had much time of late. And if Kudo started coming to his heists he'd probably have to put more effort into planning. While another chance to match wits with the detective sounded interesting, it wasn't helping his prospects where free time was concerned.

On the other hand, if Kudo started attending his heists, Kaito would automatically gain an easy option for disguise. Hmm, there were definitely some advantages to that.

Shifting in his seat, he cast a glance towards the detective in question. The boy was listening to the lecture with his chin in one hand while he jotted down notes with the other. His expression was neutral, but something in his eyes gave the magician a moment's pause. There was something tired about that look—a strange shadow that lurked beneath the surface, barely detectable but there all the same. It was a rather strange look, he thought, and why did it seem as though there was something familiar about those eyes?

X

There was something almost enjoyable about returning to high school. When he thought back, Shinichi knew he used to find it terribly dull, but after two years of grade school, being back in high school made everything look ten times more interesting. He supposed it just went to show that it really was a matter of perspective. He used to think life as a student was pretty dull too. Now he finally appreciated just how wonderfully peaceful that life was.

It was the good thing about the last two years really. They had taught him to appreciate things he used to take for granted even as they showed him his own old naiveté.

He was jerked out of his thoughts as a girl's voice shrieked loud enough to make the windows rattle.

"Bakaito!" she screeched, the sound followed by a crash.

Shinichi turned in his seat to see a girl with wild, brown hair launch herself after a laughing boy, swinging a mop at him like it was a sword. The girl's face was beet red as she charged after the fleeing boy. Other students ducked out of the way as the two passed, but no one seemed particularly surprised by any of it. The detective on the other hand couldn't help but stare—not just because of the strangeness of it but because the girl looked weirdly like Ran and the laughing loon bore an uncanny resemblance to himself. It was kind of like looking into a funhouse mirror or an alternate reality, and though he didn't think he and Ran had ever argued in quite such an…energetic manner, watching them brought back memories. Memories which felt like they were from a different lifetime altogether. Had he ever been that free? He couldn't remember anymore. But he could at least remember talking and laughing with Ran when she still trusted him… Being badgered by Sonoko over silly, inconsequential things…

He was pulled back to the present when a throat was cleared beside his desk. He turned, expecting to see another of the curious students who kept coming to ask him questions, but instead he found himself looking up into a familiar face topped by a head of blond hair.

"My name is Hakuba Saguru," the blonde introduced himself. "I have heard a lot about you, Kudo-san."

Shinichi blinked at him for a moment, wondering why Hakuba was introducing himself like they'd never met before, before he remembered that _they_ hadn't. Hakuba only knew Conan. He couldn't count the number of times this had happened lately.

It was ironic really. Edogawa Conan was a figment of the imagination, but he knew more people and had more real friends than Shinichi ever had. Then again, considering the turns his life tended to take, it was probably better that way. Safer for them and easier for him. Strangers didn't ask you for explanations you couldn't give, and, even if they did, it was easier to lie to and find excuses for a stranger than a friend.

"I've seen you in the papers," he said when he remembered that he was still talking to Hakuba. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

In another part of the room, Kaito evaded another assault via mop with a perfectly executed back flip. Looking under Aoko's swinging arm, he spotted Hakuba talking to their class's newest detective. _No way_, he thought, he was so not leaving those two alone together. The last thing he needed was Hakuba corrupting Kudo into taking up said blonde's attitude.

Slipping around Aoko, he vaulted over the intervening row of desks—earning a squawk of surprise from said desks' occupants—and landed in a crouch on top of the desk right behind Kudo. This desk was currently unoccupied so no one complained, though he did earn a disapproving look from the blonde and a surprised one from Shinichi.

"Hey there!" he exclaimed, ignoring Hakuba completely as he grinned at the dark-haired detective. "Name's Kuroba Kaito, magician extraordinaire! If you need someone to show you around, I'd be happy to oblige." Leaning forward, he added in a carrying whisper, "Just some friendly advice, but I wouldn't listen too much to this blond idiot over here. He's a little weird in the head, if you know what I mean. You should've _seen_ what he waltzed around in when he first got here."

"What he waltzed around in?" Shinichi repeated, puzzled.

"Kuroba," Hakuba said through gritted teeth. "Don't you have anything better to do than butt into other people's conversations?"

"No, not really," Kaito replied offhandedly. "Besides, I was just providing a bit of friendly warning to our new classmate here."

"Kaito!" Aoko exclaimed, having rounded the desks and reached the conversation in time to hear his last comment. "Don't be so mean."

"What?" He turned a horrified look in her direction. "Me? Mean? I was trying to do a good deed here!"

"Spreading rumors about people isn't doing a good deed," she snapped, smacking him none too gently on the back of the head.

"I was telling the truth!" he protested. "You saw that ridiculous costume too. Or are you telling me I imagined all that?"

"Oh, well…" The girl's cheeks turned pink as she glanced apologetically at Hakuba. "People can wear what they want. You shouldn't judge people by what they decide to wear."

Still seated in his desk and therefore somewhat beneath the conversation going on over him, Shinichi couldn't help but wonder what in the world they were talking about. Hakuba was beginning to look distinctly peeved. Sensing approaching mayhem, Shinichi cleared his throat loudly. The conversation stopped and all three pairs of eyes turned to him in the manner of people surprised to remember that he was there.

"I would appreciate it if you guys could show me around the school later," he said a bit hesitantly, not sure if asking them all was a good idea but also feeling that it was safer not to 'choose sides' as it were. "I haven't had much of a chance to look around yet myself."

"We'd be happy to," the girl replied with a smile before glaring at the other two as though daring them to say otherwise. Neither of them took the challenge and she smiled to herself in satisfaction. "Oh, by the way," she added, turning back to Shinichi. "My name is Nakamori Aoko. It's a pleasure to meet you."

X

Thus the last bell of the school day found Shinichi following the three Ekoda students through the grounds as they pointed out various important locations.

"The baseball diamond is that way," Aoko announced, gesturing as they walked. "And if you turn here you'll find the infirmary. It has both an outside and an indoors door, but the nurse prefers if students use the inside door unless it's an emergency."

"Yeah, last year someone hit one hell of a home run and the ball flew right in through the open outside door and smacked a student in the face," Kaito explained, waving his arms about to illustrate the event as he talked. "He lost two teeth to that ball on top of the scraped knee he was there to get a bandage for!"

Aoko frowned. "That didn't actually happen. It was just a story."

"No, it happened," the magician insisted. "The journalism club got a picture of the guy with a baseball print on his face. It was in the paper that week and everything."

"What? I don't remember that."

"I have the issue at home."

"The field past the diamond that way is used for most other sports," Hakuba told Shinichi, having apparently decided the truths and falsehoods of the infirmary baseball rumor were unimportant. "If you wish to participate in one of the school teams, you will have to contact the coach as I believe general tryouts have already finished."

Shinichi nodded, committing the layout of the school to memory as they walked.

"Oh, and that's where most of the chemistry labs are," Kaito cut in, a grin spreading across his face as he indicated a certain row of windows. "It blows up about once a month. Sometimes more."

"Usually because you were in it," Hakuba muttered.

Kaito drew himself up. "I'll have you know I excel at chemistry."

"That would certainly explain the regularity with which the labs explode."

"It's _chemistry_. You're supposed to blow something up now and then."

"You mean you do that on purpose?" Aoko asked in surprise before she snorted. "I don't know why I didn't guess… And I was telling Keiko you didn't mean it the other day too!"

Kaito grinned, slinging an arm over the irate girl's shoulders. "Ah my dear Aoko, your faith in me warms my heart."

She flushed and made to hit him but he ducked out of the way, laughing. Letting out a frustrated growl, she chased after him, swinging her book bag off her shoulder so that she could use it to extend her reach.

"Are they always like this?" Shinichi wondered aloud as he watched them.

"Every day," Hakuba replied without needing to stop and think. "I am afraid, Kudo-san, that this is what we must call normal around here."

Shinichi laughed a little at that, earning himself a raised eyebrow from the blonde. But really, there was something—so alive about this place. It was a sort of hum in the air he had been feeling all day but hadn't really noticed until now. And he thought that he could grow to like this place with its odd collection of people and habits.

A sudden spasm in his muscles made him stop abruptly in his steps. He cursed mentally. Of all the times…

"Kudo-san?"

He looked up to find Hakuba watching him inquiringly. Hiding a wince, he forced a smile onto his face. "I—need to use the restroom, and then I think I'd better get going. Thank you guys for showing me around. I really appreciate it."

"It was no trouble," the blonde replied. "Do you remember where the restrooms are?"

"Oh, yeah, thanks, don't worry about it," Shinichi said quickly, aware that he was talking a little faster than was normal but not quite able to stop himself. "I'll see you tomorrow then. Please thank Kuroba-san and Nakamori-san for me." He ducked his head in a quick bow and bolted.

Behind him Kaito and Aoko noticed the rapidly departing detective and they turned questioning eyes to Hakuba.

"He told me he needed to go to the restroom."

"But that's the wrong way," Aoko said, frowning. "If he goes that way, it'll take him twice as long to find a bathroom."

The blonde looked thoughtful as he answered. "It seemed as though he may have remembered something important. Whatever the reason, he is obviously in a great hurry."

"You don't think it was something we did, do you?" she asked.

Hakuba looked over at her anxious tone. "I don't think so. But if you're worried about it, perhaps you should ask him tomorrow."

"That's true." Aoko brightened then glanced around in confusion. "Hey, where's Kaito?"

X

Stumbling around another corner, Shinichi flung an arm out to grasp at the wall as the world heaved and spun. Nausea welled up from his stomach at the unnatural motion and he sank to the ground in a vain attempt to steady the world. It didn't work. Fire was beginning to dance along his nerves. His fingers twitched and he shivered as he fumbled his phone from his pocket.

Through blurring vision, Shinichi struggled to maneuver shaking fingers on the keys of his cell phone. It was a good thing he had Agasa's number on speed dial.

A young, female voice answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Ha—Haibara."

"Where are you?" she demanded, instantly on the alert. He would have smiled if he hadn't been in pain. He would never have thought when they'd first met that she would one day be one of the few people he truly, completely trusted.

"School," he managed to gasp out, gritting his teeth as another spasm wracked his frame. "Back."

"We'll be right there." There was a click and the connection broke. The phone slipped from numb fingers as Shinichi gave up the struggle to stay conscious and slid into blessed oblivion.

Perched on a narrow ledge far above the trembling detective, Kaito frowned in thought. That…wasn't what he'd expected when he'd followed Shinichi out of curiosity. The other teen was obviously ill. Was it why he'd been gone for two years? But then why had he come back from wherever he'd been when he obviously wasn't well yet?

**TBC**

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**A.N**: And so it begins! Anyhow, I hope you liked it, and I'll see you in two weeks. ^_^


	2. Writing on the Wall

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

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**Sky Colored Eyes**

2: Writing on the Wall

"Come on Shin-chan, it'll be fun!"

A sigh. "Mom, I already told you, I can't afford to miss any more school."

"Oh, that." Even through the phone, the dismissive tone of the woman's voice was clear. "You know, you could always just transfer to a school here."

Blue eyes blinked. "You mean…move to America? Permanently?"

"That's right. Then you can come live with your father and me, and we can go on family shopping trips on the weekends~!"

Shinichi shook his head at his mother's sudden excitement even though he knew she couldn't see him. "Right… I'll—think about it."

There was a sudden silence on the other end of the line before Yukiko broke it with a stunned question. "Really?"

"Yes, really."

"…But…Are you all right? I mean, why the sudden change? You've never shown any interest in coming before. Usually you just say no."

Shinichi frowned. "What, why can't I just change my mind? Besides, I only said I'd think about it."

"Oh…" A pause. "Okay. Well, if you do decide to come visit, just let me know and I'll arrange everything!"

"I will. Listen, Mom, I have to get going."

"Okay. Goodbye."

"Bye."

Hanging up the phone, Shinichi let his breath out in a short puff.

While the idea of living with his parents wasn't necessarily horrifying, it did have a certain…lack of appeal. He loved them, he really did, but they were…difficult people to live with at the best of times. They were both rather flighty and irresponsible, kind of like spoiled children really, and sometimes Shinichi seriously wondered how he could be related to either of them. His dad put more effort into being lazy and fleeing his editors than he did into actually working (which made it all the more infuriating that he was so damned good at what he did), and his mother was always seeing drama plotlines in real life. They never took anything seriously. They were very much people who lived only in the present with little care for things past. Of course, that wasn't a bad thing, but Shinichi couldn't live the way they did. He knew that, even if they didn't.

Even so, the idea of going away for a while… To leave everything that had happened behind… Part of him couldn't help but long for that. The other part of him knew it wouldn't help. Maybe for a while, it would, but he would never be able to go far enough to get away from his own ghosts.

Sometimes, he wondered what was wrong with him. What was done was done. So why couldn't he stop thinking about it? What did it matter what other people thought? Okay, so some of them were people he cared about—people he had been trying to protect. People he'd thought…would understand. But it was his own fault for hiding the truth from them. He couldn't blame them for being upset about it.

Letting his breath out in a sigh, he shook the thoughts away and moved to pour himself a second cup of coffee before he had to head to school. He was here because he needed to move on. Everyone else had.

X

Not wanting to commute from Beika every day just to go to school (and kind of really wanting a chance to just get away for a while from all the reminders of what had and could have been), he had talked to his parents and acquired a small apartment near the park in Ekoda. It was a plain, unremarkable place, but that suited him just fine. Besides, it had a decent view of the park and the clock tower that stood in it. He still remembered the first time he'd seen that clock tower from inside that police helicopter. Was KID's message still inscribed on the clock face? Maybe he should find some time to go check. That night felt like a lifetime ago.

Come to think of it, he hadn't been to a KID heist since he'd still been Conan. He'd thought about it once or twice, but he just couldn't seem to find the time. He also wasn't entirely sure he had the courage to go, pathetic as it sounded. The memories of his encounters with the gentleman thief were some of the only ones he had left that held no painful attachments. The almost-friendship they'd shared had meant a lot to him. If he went to a heist now though, everything would be different. And he really didn't want to deal with that along with everything else. He wanted…to preserve the memories he had.

His walk to school was pleasantly uneventful. The morning air carried a faint but refreshing chill. He'd made sure to fill a thermos with coffee right before he'd left home. It gave him something to focus on while he walked, and the familiar aroma was soothing. Ai had given him the evil eye when the first thing he'd unpacked when she and the professor had come to help him move was the coffeemaker, but really, coffee was one of the few things in the world that he could rely on to make his day feel brighter. While that was probably all kinds of sad in some people's eyes, he rather thought it was a blessing. Not everyone had the luxury of that kind of knowledge about themselves.

He arrived on campus in plenty of time to test his memory of the layout of the grounds. Everything was normal and exactly how he'd thought it would be until he opened the door to his classroom. He stopped just inside the threshold and gaped, not sure what he was seeing and wondering if he'd taken a wrong turn somewhere along the way.

The room was full of giant fruits? There were strawberries, watermelons, cherries, persimmons, bananas, apples, pears—there was even a fig in the back corner. Every single fruit, regardless of species, stood several feet tall. In fact, now that he was looking closer, he could see that each was about the size of your average classroom desk. Only the slice of watermelon was bigger. That one was the size of the teacher's desk and, coincidentally, stood where said desk should have been. Okay… So someone had, what, disguised the furniture as matching fruit? Why? And which fruit—er, desk, was his?

"Kaito!" The shouting voice and that particular tone was already familiar to Shinichi despite this only being his second day in Ekoda High. It was Nakamori Aoko. She was standing beside the giant strawberry, holding a mop like a quarterstaff, and wearing a—a strawberry patterned dress and a leafy green hat topped with a stubby stem. That was when Shinichi finally turned his attention from the fruits to the students. Each student's uniform had been replaced with garments matching one of the fruits in the room. Here a boy stood in a green and white uniform with black, oval spots along the hems. Kiwi, Shinichi thought immediately. Then there were the two girls in matching black dresses covered in glossy, round baubles that puffed out in just the right way to look like blackberries. Hakuba was dressed entirely in red and his blond hair had been dyed green to go with the rather large leaf that looked like it had been glued onto the side of his head. He was pinching the bridge of his nose and appeared to be counting to a very high number. Some people were laughing, others were staring, still more just looked resigned.

Kuroba Kaito was the only person in the room not dressed up as a fruit (well, him and an elegant, redheaded girl seated primly amidst the chaos). Instead, he was dressed in shades of brown (later, they found out that this was because Kaito's favorite fruit was one that had chocolate on it, which no one else was inclined to think counted but was indeed being represented by the magician's own desk, which looked like a chocolate-covered fruit tart). He was laughing as Aoko brandished her mop at him in exasperation.

"How am I supposed to take notes on a strawberry?! Did you really have to include the stem and the leaves? There's no way to make my notebook lie flat!"

Kind of a funny choice of complaint, Shinichi thought, but logical in its own way. It went a long way in proving how often this kind of thing happened around here though that it was such a particular detail the girl was focusing on.

"But it wouldn't be a proper strawberry if it didn't have leaves," the culprit pointed out, sounding so reasonable that Aoko actually paused in her vigorous mop-waving.

Then her eyebrows twitched and the mop scythed through the air in a blur of wood and wiggly strands. The magician ducked just in time to avoid what might very well have been a concussion and ran off laughing.

"Oh, hey there Shinichi," he called out cheerily as he vaulted over an orange to dodge another swing. "I didn't know what your favorite fruit was, so you get the blueberry!" And, in a puff of matching blue smoke, Shinichi found himself dressed from head to toe in a blueberry blue (purple?) version of his school uniform.

Shinichi blinked, looked down at himself, then up and around the room once more. The teacher (in his pink suit jacket and striped, green pants) had buried his head in his hands atop the watermelon slice. Hakuba was now tugging in vain at the leaf in his hair and wincing as it clung to his green locks despite all his efforts to dislodge it. Shinichi couldn't help it. He laughed. It was hesitant and short and more surprised than mirthful, but it was the first time he'd laughed in what felt like years. Not that anyone knew that. For the most part, his arrival had gone by unnoticed by the majority of his new classmates, but that was how he preferred it. Feeling oddly lighthearted and slightly bemused by his own reaction, he wandered into the maze of fruits in search of the blueberry.

X

Kaito had spotted Shinichi on his way to school and spent a few moments observing him. The teen had been carrying a rather large thermos whose contents seemed to be occupying the entirety of his attention. Whatever was in there, he obviously loved it very much. The thief made a mental note to find out what it was. It could be useful information in the future.

Deciding he wouldn't learn anything else useful by hanging around, he'd picked up his pace in order to get to class early enough to set up the surprise he'd been planning for his classmates ever since the poll they'd taken last week about people's favorite fruits. It had been a while since he'd done anything more major at school, and he felt like trying something a little different today.

He was rather proud of his work. Everything had gone exactly how he'd planned. The only thing that had surprised him was the reaction of their school's newest detective.

He'd expected a scowl or a complaint or maybe even confusion. He hadn't expected Shinichi to laugh. Granted, he looked more like the sound had been surprised out of him than anything else, but it was still a laugh.

Interesting.

The rest of the day passed relatively normally—relatively because there was only so normal class could be when everyone had to work around their newly fruit-ified desks and accessories. Most of the students ended up placing textbooks underneath their notebooks to compensate for the unevenness of the fruits. Then there was the crowd of students from other classes who showed up every break to get a look at the new décor. Shinichi even spotted several people taking pictures. The whole affair made it feel as though their class had been turned into a tourist attraction for the day.

Kaito was rather proud of how much attention his latest prank was getting. Out of the corner of his eye though, he couldn't help but notice that Kudo flinched every time a camera flash went off. Strange. He would have thought a detective as well known as the Heisei Holmes would be well used to having his picture taken even if he hadn't been in the papers for a while. Judging from the frown on Aoko's face, she had noticed too.

She abandoned her latest attempt to decapitate him by mop to approach the detective's desk. "Kudo-kun?"

The boy looked up from the book he'd spent their whole lunch break reading. "Nakamori-san. Was there something you needed?"

"Would you like to get ice cream with us after school?" the girl asked with an encouraging smile that made Shinichi think of someone talking to a shy child she thought might turn and run if startled. "We could show you some of the better places to eat and stuff while we're at it."

"Yeah," Kaito agreed enthusiastically, popping up beside Aoko in a shower of sparks. "You left so fast yesterday, we never got the chance to show you any of the really cool stuff!"

"I don't…" Shinichi began then stopped. He did actually have time. The last time he'd done that whole 'just hanging out with friends' thing was while he'd still been Conan and being towed around by the Shounan Tantei. Truth be told, he kind of missed those afternoon outings he'd once thought boring. Back in his old life—the one he'd had before being shrunk—he'd mostly kept to himself, having been too preoccupied with his mystery obsession to care about playing with other kids his age. But if his second childhood had taught him anything, it was that you should value the time you had with people because you never knew when it was going to end.

He didn't know these people very well yet, but he was here to start over. And, well…he didn't really want to be alone. It was a wistful little hope he tried not to think about, but it was there all the same. He might not know very much about making friends (the few real friends he had had mostly barged into his life of their own accord and, if asked, he really couldn't answer how or why they'd ended up hanging around), but he did know that shying away from invitations like these weren't the way to go about it.

Biting back his reflexive urge to refuse, he agreed, hoping he didn't sound as nervous as he felt.

X

"The ice cream parlor we're going to is always coming up with new flavors," Kaito was saying as he led the group through the streets of Ekoda. "They've also started doing sorbets, though personally I think their ice creams are better."

"I rather liked the tropical sorbet they had a few weeks ago," Aoko replied. "But it's definitely true that the variety of flavors they have for ice cream is amazing."

"They also offer a decent selection of coffees and teas," Hakuba added.

"They even let you make floats with them," the inspector's daughter agreed. "Of course, they also have the usual soda-based floats. In fact, I think they have a promotion for those right now. It's too bad Keiko couldn't come with us. She loves them."

Shinichi was just beginning to settle into the swing of the conversation when they were interrupted by a scream. He almost groaned. So much for a normal afternoon.

His feet were running before his mind had actually registered the sound. They carried him into the park past neatly kept lawns and trees. It didn't take long to locate the gathering of shocked civilians. They were murmuring amongst themselves as they stared at something in the bushes behind a series of benches. Shinichi wove his way through them until he too could see the body lying mostly concealed beneath said bushes. A baseball sat near one limp hand. A few steps from it, a little boy sat frozen with eyes wide as dinner plates. It seemed he had been searching for his ball when he'd stumbled over the body. A woman who was probably the boy's mother had just hurried to his side and was pulling him into a protective embrace.

"Call the police," Shinichi instructed the horrified spectators at large before crouching to examine the victim.

It was a teenage girl around his own age. In fact, she was wearing the Ekoda High girl's uniform. His stomach twisted unpleasantly. While all murder was despicable, it always seemed just that touch more grating when the victims were so young.

"I knew her," Hakuba murmured as he joined Shinichi. "I believe she was on the Ekoda High swim team."

"Do you know what kind of person she was?"

"I only met her a few times, so I can't say for sure. My impression was that she was rather shy."

As the two detectives talked, Aoko stood awkwardly some meters away. She didn't want to look at the body, but she couldn't seem to drag her eyes away from it for long. Her gaze just kept sliding back to the unmoving figure there under the bushes. She too had seen the girl before, though she didn't know her personally. Being a policeman's daughter, she heard about these kinds of things probably more often than the average teenager, but this was still the closest she had ever been to a corpse. Hearing about these things was nothing at all like seeing them for real—it was so much worse when it was real.

And to think that the person lying there was someone she had seen at school not so long ago… Someone she would now never see again, just like that…

She shook her head hard. A hand landed on her shoulder and she looked up to see Kaito watching her with concern.

"Are you all right?"

She let out a short laugh that was anything but amused. "No, of course not. What do you think?"

"I guess that _was_ a stupid question. Here." Taking her arm, he guided her towards the benches opposite. She dropped onto the weathered, wooden seat, hand going automatically to twist in her uniform's skirt.

"Do you want something to drink?"

She shook her head quickly. "No. I don't think I could swallow anything right now."

Kaito nodded and sat down beside her, his gaze going back to the two detectives at their work. Part of him wanted to go over there and find out what the hell had happened, but he stayed put. Aoko didn't look so good, and he didn't want to leave her alone. Besides, he was sure he'd hear about it later whether he wanted to or not (in his experience, detectives didn't seem to know how to keep their mouths shut even when it meant giving the villains they were dealing with the perfect chance to off them).

The police arrived not long after and the area around the body was roped off. Some of the officers began to photograph the scene while others set about taking statements. Spotting Shinichi, Megure-keibu made a beeline for him.

"So what've you got for us, Kudo-kun?" he asked without preamble.

Shinichi greeted the inspector with a slightly strained smile before launching into a description of what he and Hakuba had pieced together.

Megure-keibu and many of the men from his department who remembered Shinichi or who had interacted with him as himself on the rare occasions he allowed his name to crop up in cases while he'd still been Conan still saw him as something of a savior with all their answers (kind of creepy, but it tended to make things go faster), but to the rest of the police he'd become the once-famous high school detective who'd just up and disappeared for two years. To them his credibility was questionable at best. Having to prove himself to them was a tiresome task that he really wished he didn't have to deal with right now. He had too many other things on his mind.

Fortunately, the inspector seemed to have sensed some of this, and so he took it upon himself to speak to Shinichi personally whenever he could. It was a simple gesture that Shinichi appreciated—probably a great deal more than the inspector would ever know.

By the time the proceedings were over, it was far too late to go anywhere anymore. It was a subdued group of teens that left the park. Shinichi bid the others farewell and turned his steps homeward. He barely heard their replies, mind still circling around the case.

It was strange. They could tell that the girl had died some time the previous evening. They could also tell that her body had been lying in the park all night. What they couldn't figure out was how she'd died. There were no visible wounds and none of the signs of poison that either he or Hakuba had been able to check. They had to wait on the autopsy for further details, but it was still strange. Neither had the scene indicated that she'd been in any pain. It was like the girl had simply fallen asleep and never woken up. If it wasn't for the location, her death could easily have been written off as a freak accident.

Well, the location and the marks. There had been strange marks on the backs of her wrists and on her forehead under her bangs. They had looked strangely like brands, and they were the only signs that anything unusual had been done to the girl. However, out of place as they were, they couldn't have been the cause of her death.

Letting his breath out in a sigh, he pushed the questions to the back of his mind. The next move belonged to the police. They needed to contact the victim's family and research her acquaintances. Megure had promised to keep him informed of any new discoveries. For now, he still had school work to worry about.

X

"What happened?"

Freezing in the doorway with his shoes half off, Shinichi looked up to see a familiar, blond girl standing before him with her arms folded. She was glaring at him with piercing blue eyes that always seemed to see right through him.

"Ha—Haibara," he stammered, trying not to squirm. After all, he hadn't done anything wrong.

"I distinctly remember telling you yesterday after your relapse that you needed to rest today. It's almost midnight. Where have you been?"

"I—I was at the park," he scrambled to explain as the intensity of the little girl's glare increased. She had been intimidating enough when she'd been taller than him. Yet despite the fact that he was now quite a bit taller than her, she still managed to make him feel tiny—like a bug under a microscope. An extremely nervous bug who knew it wasn't going to be able to get away. "There was a murder. It was a student from the high school…" He trailed off, wilting slightly. "I'm sorry I lost track of time."

Ai stared at him for several moments longer before relenting and turning away. "Put your stuff away and come to the kitchen. The professor and I brought dinner. You will eat it before you go to bed." Her tone brooked no argument.

The problem was that he still had homework. He supposed he could wait until she'd left.

"I don't care if you have homework."

He blinked then stared at the girl's back. "You—how did you—"

She turned briefly to grace him with one of her droll looks. "It's you." With that, she disappeared into the kitchen.

He let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and finished removing his shoes. In the distance, he could hear the hum of the microwave going to work. A small, tired smile made its way onto his face. He really did appreciate that she was trying to look out for him. The rest of him though wished she wouldn't worry about him so much. He didn't want to be a burden to anyone.

X

Miyano Shiho, now known to most of the world as Haibara Ai, had stopped believing a long time ago that her life could ever be peaceful. First her parents, then her sister—murdered. For the longest time she'd been sure she would follow them soon. Every new day was an unexpected gift. At the same time, it was another day of anxious fear. She had gotten good at pushing it down into the depths of her mind, but no matter how well it was hidden she'd always known it was still there.

When she had met Kudo Shinichi, things had changed. Not quickly—far from it—but slowly, bit by excruciatingly tiny bit, she had begun to think that maybe there was going to be a future after all. Their little successes had given her hope, and his determination had kindled her own.

She had found a home at Professor Agasa's and made friends. Even overshadowed by her fears, it had been a new beginning. It was the second chance she'd never allowed herself to wish for.

And here they were now. Their war was over, and as far as she was concerned things had turned out better than anyone had had any reason to expect.

The professor and Shinichi… They weren't just her allies anymore—or even her friends. They were her family. They had been there for her throughout her ordeal, and they had done everything they could to help her even when they didn't have to.

There would never be words enough to express her gratitude towards them. What she could do, however, was watch out for them the way they had done for her. After all, wasn't that what you did for people you cared about?

The problem was that she didn't know what she could do to fix this. It wasn't as easy as making sure the professor got enough exercise and ate healthily.

Peering through the crack of the door into Shinichi's bedroom, she studied the still form under the covers, analyzing the breathing patterns until she was absolutely sure he was asleep and not faking it so that she would leave. That was the problem with him. Shinichi didn't seem to understand that there was a time when even the most capable of people needed to call it quits and rest. When he'd still been Conan, he hadn't had a choice in the matter. But now that the waiting game was over and he had his old body and mobility back, he seemed to have decided he needed to make up for lost time by doing everything at once. At the same time, she couldn't help but notice the way he sometimes paused in the middle of whatever he was doing to stare off into space, looking lost.

Perhaps it was the sudden disappearance of a longstanding goal. Not just because they had taken down the organization, but because he had finally realized that the life he'd thought he would be going back to had drifted beyond his reach the day he'd first been poisoned. Unlike her, he didn't see the way things had changed as an opportunity.

He was like a runner in a race. He'd been sprinting full tilt towards the finish line. Only suddenly he couldn't see the line anymore. But, instead of stopping to see where it had gone, he only ran faster in the hopes that it would show itself again. It was only natural that his confusion grew as it continued to elude him long after the track had vanished. He hadn't realized that the race was over and it was time to take a breather.

Shutting the door as quietly as she could, she sighed and shook her head. "What am I going to do with you?"

**TBC**

* * *

**A.N**: And that's chapter two! I also recently put up the full-sized version of the cover pic for Outlaw Hearts on Deviant Art. The link is on my profile, and I decided to actually put the mini in as the fic cover. Anyhow, see you in two weeks! ^_^


	3. Chorus of Whispers

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

* * *

**Sky Colored Eyes**

3: Chorus of Whispers

By the following morning, the news of the murdered student had already spread through the entire population of Ekoda High. The halls were abuzz with subdued whispers and fearful looks. The classrooms were supernaturally quiet, but the teachers were anything but pleased. They would, every one of them, have preferred the usual unruly ruckus of healthy teenage minds.

The victim, Takamura Sakuno, had been a shy girl with few friends, but suddenly everyone in school knew her name. It was ironic and tragic all at once, Aoko thought.

Propping her chin on her palm, she let her gaze drift around the classroom. It was eerily quiet despite the teacher's voice. Kaito must have sensed her mood because he hadn't tried any of his usual pranks or teasing on her that morning. Part of her was grateful because she really didn't feel like dealing with having her skirt flipped or some other embarrassing stunt, but on the other hand it just made the somber mood of the day all that much more prominent.

Her eyes moved from her childhood friend to their class's original detective. Saguru appeared to be focused entirely on the lesson. Then again, that was just like him. A small smile tugged at her lips. He was the kind of person who preferred to take things one at a time so that he could devote his full attention to each task. Out of all the people she knew, he was definitely the most organized. Kaito made fun of him for being 'an obsessive freak' (his words, not hers), but she rather admired that about the blonde. The ability to manage time that well was something not many people had. It was a comfort to see him listening so intently to the teacher.

Realizing how long she'd been staring at him, she blushed and tore her gaze away, turning instead to the newest student in their class. He too was diligently taking notes, though every now and then he would stop and stare out the window with a distracted expression. Earlier, when she'd passed by his desk, she had noticed that he had been drawing symbols in the margins of his notes that looked like the marks that they had found on Takamura's body, so she had a pretty good guess what was on his mind.

He had turned out to be rather different from what she had expected when she'd first heard from her father that he would be moving to Ekoda. In the midst of his griping about having another know-it-all brat to deal with, her father had told her that Kudo had had to transfer to their school because he'd missed too much time at his old one gallivanting around playing detective with the FBI and Interpol, "poking his nose into grownup business" (what business that was, her father didn't appear to know). Knowing that, she'd expected someone brash and too proud of his abilities to care about trivial things like school since he'd skipped so much of it just like that. She'd also heard through the grapevine that a lot of his old classmates thought he was stand-offish because he preferred reading a book over spending time with them. From what she'd seen though, she was inclined to think he was more shy than he was aloof. Maybe he just didn't deal much with normal people?

She had decided that she would get to know him better. He seemed nice if a little quiet, and she liked how Kaito and Saguru didn't spend so much time trading snide comments when he was around.

And so her thoughts had come full circle and landed back on Kaito—who, she noticed, had abandoned his notes in favor of eyeing the room at large with a speculative expression she knew all too well.

X

Kaito had been trying to keep a lid on the pranks for the day in honor of recent discoveries, but all the gloom and doom in the atmosphere was getting on his nerves. It wasn't that he wasn't feeling some of it himself—death was never something to be taken lightly—but the tension in the air only seemed to be feeding in on itself. It was as though the more time everyone had to dwell on the loss, the heavier the weight of its reality. The strange circumstances surrounding her passing probably didn't help. It was making people worry.

So when lunch came and went with no improvement, the magician decided it was time to take matters into his own hands.

And that was why half the student body was now running around being chased by balloon animals because they'd seen what happened to the other half that hadn't run fast enough. Loud, boisterous music was blasting through the PA system and there were bizarre rockets zooming down the halls, trailing a rain of confetti. Yells and screams filled the air, but there was laughter there too, and as the noise grew the brittle atmosphere from before shattered into a million tiny pieces.

Kaito grinned and gave himself a mental pat on the back.

"Kuroba-kun, can I talk to you?"

Slightly startled despite himself, Kaito turned to see the one person he'd ever met who really made him nervous. The slender, red-haired girl stood a few steps behind him, her crimson eyes serious. The grim and slightly worried expression was so unfamiliar on her face that he thought for a moment that it was just another girl who looked like her.

"What is it?" he asked a bit warily.

Koizumi Akako hesitated for an instant, her gaze drifting to take in the chaos of the classroom before returning to the magician. "It would be best if we stepped outside."

Kaito debated with himself for a moment before nodding. While he would probably never be truly comfortable around the witch, she had mellowed out quite a bit over the course of their acquaintanceship. He might even venture to say that she had become a friend—albeit a creepy friend who should be treated with respectful caution.

"So what was it that you wanted to talk to me about, Koizumi-san?" he asked once they were out in the empty hallway.

Akako didn't answer immediately. Instead her eyes shifted to stare over his shoulder as though reading an invisible script. Then she shook her head and let her breath out in something that wasn't quite a sigh. "There is something…coming."

Kaito waited, but when she said no more, he sighed. "Really Koizumi-san. I know you like to be cryptic, but if you want me to understand what you're trying to tell me, you're going to have to give me more than that."

Expecting her to give him one of those mysterious smiles and some line about hellish informants and whatnot, he was surprised when she actually looked away.

"It is…difficult to put into words."

Indigo eyes blinked. "Okay. Why don't you try?" he suggested, keeping his tone light and encouraging despite his inner amazement that Akako of all people was sounding unsure.

The witch closed her eyes and took in a deep, contemplative breath. When she opened her eyes again, the strange, uncertain expression from before had vanished to be replaced by a more neutral one. "There is—"

The sound of a door opening caused the girl to cut herself off. Both teens turned to see Shinichi step out of the classroom they had just left.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," he said politely, "but the teacher wants to speak to Kuroba-san. She says if you don't come in right now she's going to give you detention for the next month."

Ah yes, Kaito mused. This teacher was fairly new. Most of his teachers would rather eat their own shoes than give him detention (the last thing any of them wanted was to put themselves at the mercy of the king of pranksters' undivided attention). While he certainly wouldn't mind enlightening her on why this was so, he had plans to head over to Beika later today to see what he could find out about where Tantei-kun had really gone. He also had a heist notice to deliver and a few extra supplies to pick up.

"Sorry Koizumi, I'll talk to you later, all right?"

The redhead's lips thinned but she nodded. "Don't forget."

X

Shinichi had always liked libraries—and no, it was not only because they were full of books. Libraries were quiet and people didn't expect you to be social while you were there. At the same time, it wasn't quite as stiflingly still as an empty house. Even when there weren't any other visitors, the books themselves always felt as though they had their own presence—as though the worlds of thought contained within their pages had given them a life of their own.

He had headed to the local library right after school let out to finish his homework and begin researching those strange brands. He'd expected it to be mostly empty, and it had been when he'd first gotten there. When he'd finished his homework and stood up to head to the history section however, he'd been mildly shocked to find all the reading tables had become packed while he'd been distracted.

Not only that, but he recognized several of the men pouring over stacks of books at said tables. They were police officers who worked with Nakamori-keibu.

He blinked. So the library had suddenly been flooded with policemen. He couldn't help but notice that several of them were taking notes like students preparing to write reports.

"Ah, Kudo-san, good evening. May I sit with you?"

Shinichi turned to find Hakuba standing beside his table. The blond detective had set his book bag beside the empty chair opposite him and set out a notebook and pen.

"Go ahead, I don't mind," Shinichi replied, looking from Hakuba to the police officers and back again. "Do you know what's going on?"

"KID just sent out another notice," Hakuba explained. He gestured to the police with a wry smile. "As I'm sure you can guess, this one is quite complex."

"Oh, I see." Bemused, Shinichi turned again to the officers busy at their research. He'd always known the KID Task Force was a dedicated bunch—none more so than one Nakamori Ginzo—but he'd never realized quite how much time and effort they had to put into their work. All those police officers pouring over stacks of books and comparing notes was certainly a sight to see. But did they really need this many people just to solve one note?

Remembering belatedly that he had been talking to Hakuba, he returned his attention to the blonde. "Are you here with them?"

Hakuba shrugged. "In a sense. However I like to use my own approach for such things."

"Do you often attend KID heists then?" Shinichi asked though he already knew the answer.

"When I can. I don't think anyone should be allowed to mock the law the way he does." The blonde grimaced at some private memory. "What about you? I heard you confronted him yourself a few years ago."

"The clock tower," Shinichi murmured, his own thoughts drifting towards memory lane. "It was a long time ago. I didn't know it was one of KID's until a lot later."

One blond eyebrow rose. "Really? You should tell Kuroba. I am sure he would be most offended."

Blue eyes blinked at him, confused. "Why would he be offended?" He'd understand surprised, but offended seemed a bit extreme.

Hakuba glanced around then leaned forward, lowering his voice. "Well, he _claims_ to be one of KID's biggest fans. However, I—"

"Hakuba-kun!" one of the officers called out, interrupting him. "We think we know what the first two sentences mean. Could you come take a look?"

Hakuba glanced over at the officers in question then nodded to Shinichi before standing. "Please excuse me."

X

Taking a sip from his steaming mug of hot mocha, Kaito adjusted his earpiece then turned a page in the book he was pretending to read. All around him, the quiet murmur of the café's other patrons provided a soothing background to match the evening skies outside.

He had planted bugs in the Mouri Detective Agency and assigned some of his spy doves to follow the members of the Shounan Tantei. The curious children that Tantei-kun used to hang out with still talked about him quite a lot—lamenting that he wasn't around anymore and wondering if they would ever see him again. The only member of the group who didn't seem depressed whenever the subject arose was the little honey-haired girl who'd always struck Kaito as being sharp beyond her years in a way very much reminiscent of Tantei-kun himself. She didn't participate much in those conversations about where Conan might be, but when she did it was usually to tell the others not to fret so much and that they should be happy for their friend. After all, he'd been away from home so long, it was high time he got to go back. The rest of the kids would come around and agree, but Kaito couldn't help but notice that the Haibara girl herself never sounded entirely sincere. It was as though she was trying to convince herself more than her friends.

The strangest behavior he had observed, however, had to be that of Mouri Ran. From what he remembered, she'd always doted on the brat like any overprotective big sister. Yet not once had she even mentioned his name in the days since he'd first planted his bugs. She'd never wondered how he was doing or reminisced about the time he'd spent in her home. Even her father occasionally voiced a comment about how it was a little strange not having the nosy squirt wandering around his cases anymore. At other times he would laugh about not having to put up with a freeloader now. Every time the boy came up though, his daughter would change the subject.

Listening to the subtle inflections in her voice, Kaito couldn't help but feel that there was something unnatural about her behavior. She sounded more like someone who was determined not to think about something upsetting than someone trying to move on from missing a departed friend. Well, at least there was no anxiety in her tones. So whatever was bothering her, it was unlikely to be some terrible accident like Kaito had started to dread.

Now the question was, what in the world could little Tantei-kun have possibly done to anger his loving surrogate sister so much?

Kaito had a great imagination, but he honestly couldn't think of anything that could fit the bill.

Since the Mouris were a dead end, he'd turned his focus to the next set of odd behaviors—Haibara Ai.

He had tried planting bugs in the Agasa household before, but—to his surprise and increasing curiosity—they had all been disabled only a day after he'd put them there. He switched to sending doves after that whenever he felt the need to scope the place out (it was, after all, one of Tantei-kun's most common haunts). They couldn't get inside the house, but they did allow him to observe the little girl and her elderly guardian and exercise his lip-reading skills. Not perfect, but better than nothing. Let's see, who had he sent over there today…

X

There was a bird on the windowsill. She frowned, turning to get a better look. The bird, however, fluttered and darted off the moment she placed her full attention on it.

Well, that was only natural. A lot of the wild animals that lived around cities ignored humans as long as the humans were ignoring them. The moment they sensed the weight of human eyes however, they would vanish in a heartbeat.

Shaking her head, the young scientist tried to focus back on her ridiculously easy homework. She could solve these problems in her sleep. On the other hand, if she did a little extra, she'd have the rest of the week's non-school hours free for her own research.

At precisely seven thirty, she picked up her cell phone from where it lay beside her textbooks and pressed the speed dial number for Shinichi. It rang a few times before the detective answered.

"Go eat," she said into the phone, not bothering to introduce herself or offer a greeting.

"…How do you know I haven't?"

"Have you?"

"…"

"As expected. I'll be calling again at ten." She hung up before he could answer. Adding the period to tie off the last sentence of her English homework, she closed her books and packed everything neatly into her backpack. That done, she hopped off the chair and headed for the kitchen. Today was a salad night, which meant mixing everything before the professor got back from visiting his friend so that he would have no excuse to add too much dressing.

On her way to the kitchen, she noticed that the bird was back. It was perched on the window's outer sill and preening its feathers. It stopped when she glanced at it, fluttered its wings, and darted up into the branches of the tree outside.

Proceeding into the kitchen, she took a small dish and filled it with clean, lukewarm water. Heading back to the window, she opened it and placed the dish outside before closing it again. That done, she returned to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Cooking had never been something she was particularly interested in, but over the last few years she had learned a little. Being a scientist, she was good at making sure she put just the right amount of everything into the mix and didn't leave it on the fire too long. And it was her way of helping out around the house with the added benefit of making it easier for her to keep track of what Professor Agasa ate.

Behind her, the dove flew back to the sill and spent several moments examining the water dish. Satisfied that it was safe, the bird set about washing itself. But it was careful to keep its right leg away from the water because it knew the master would be annoyed if the tiny camera secured to said leg got wet.

X

Hakuba had invited him to the KID heist. They still didn't know exactly when the heist would be, but the blonde was confident that they would soon, and he'd suggested Shinichi go with him.

The invitation had left Shinichi at a bit of a loss. Part of him wanted to go. He…kind of missed KID—KID's heists, he amended quickly. But his reasons for avoiding them hadn't changed either. Not that he could share those reasons with the other detective.

His breath left him in a quiet sigh. The sound was lost amidst the hum of the cars passing by as he made his way home.

In the end, he hadn't been able to give Hakuba a straight answer.

And yet there was now a copy of KID's latest heist note written carefully on a new page in the small notebook that never left his side.

**TBC**


	4. Deer Trails

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

* * *

**Sky Colored Eyes**

4: Deer Trails

"Tou-san, I'm making breakfast! Did you want some?" Aoko called as she made her way towards the kitchen. When there was no answer, she frowned. Stepping over the threshold of the kitchen doorway, her gaze went immediately to the newspaper on the table beside an empty mug and plate. There were still a few breadcrumbs lingering on the bamboo-patterned plate.

The girl's breath left her in an irritated puff as her good mood took a turn for the sour. Of course he'd already gone. A new KID heist notice had been delivered to the police just the other day after all. She should have remembered.

Stalking to the dining table, she picked up the plate and mug and took them to the sink. Of course he'd forgotten to wash them up. It was like this every time a new notice came in. _Every single time_.

"Stupid," she muttered, setting about making her own breakfast. It wasn't that she couldn't understand her father's determination not to let a criminal he'd been battling for two decades get away, but still… Did he really have to forget about everything else whenever heists came around just like that? Like nothing else was or could be as important.

Like Aoko wasn't as important.

She shook her head. Now she knew she was being unfair. He didn't mean to forget things like promises to have family dinners and such—he was always sorry when he remembered. It was just that her father had a tendency to get carried away whenever KID was involved. He was just dedicated like that, and deep down she really did admire him for that. Not just anyone could get up and keep trying after so many (often humiliating) defeats. She was proud that her father was one of those who could. It was just that sometimes she thought…well, it would be nice if—just once—he would put aside one of those infuriating notes or skip a heist to spend time with _her_.

Rinsing off her own plate and placing it into the rack to dry, she went to collect her school bag and head out. By the time she stepped out the door, she had managed to bring a smile back to her face.

She was not going to let KID of all people ruin a perfectly good day. So she probably wouldn't see her father much if at all for the next few days (possibly weeks). It wasn't like she was a little kid anymore. She was in her last year of high school and headed for college. She could take care of herself.

And when this heist was over, she was going to insist that he take her to that restaurant she'd been seeing on TV, and she wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"Whoa, looking a bit warlike there. Do I need to hurry ahead and warn our dear classmates?"

Her smile grew more genuine as she turned to see Kaito jogging up to her. "No need. I was just thinking about where I wanted to have dinner next time Tou-san and I go out."

"So it's your dad I should be warning?"

She rolled her eyes and smacked her friend on the shoulder. "No, Bakaito, you don't have to warn anyone."

"That's good to know."

Aoko snorted, but soon she was laughing. And she realized that somewhere between Kaito's appearance and now the last vestiges of her bad mood had dissolved into nothingness.

Kaito grinned, satisfied. When he'd first laid eyes on Aoko that morning, he'd known at once that she was upset despite her determined efforts to put it out of her mind. Now, however, the tension had eased from her neck and shoulders and the smile on her face softened from the forced brittleness of minutes past.

"Hey, isn't that Kudo-kun?" Aoko said suddenly, pointing to the street corner ahead of them. "I didn't realize he lived near here."

"Let's go say hello then!"

The two caught up to the detective just as the walk light blinked on. Kaito noted that, once again, Shinichi was walking with a thermos. His sapphire eyes were fixed straight ahead and still faintly glazed like he wasn't entirely awake yet. He didn't seem to notice either that he had acquired company.

Kaito clapped a hand over Aoko's mouth when she started to greet the detective. She gave him a confused look over his hand but he only smirked and winked. "What do you think is in that thermos?"

The girl's puzzled look didn't fade as he released her. "I don't know. Why don't you just ask? And why are we just following him? It's rude not to say hello when you see someone you know."

"Asking's no fun. Watch this." Picking up his pace, Kaito drew up beside the detective, employing all his skills in not being noticed. Then, quick as a flash, he reached out and slipped the thermos from Shinichi's hands before darting back to Aoko.

For a moment Shinichi continued walking with his hands still up as though holding onto an invisible thermos. Kaito bit back a laugh. Beside him, Aoko looked torn between giggling and scolding her friend. Then the detective stopped in his tracks and looked around. From the way his gaze swept the ground first, it was clear he thought he'd dropped his thermos. But then he spotted the two pairs of feet not far behind him.

Blue eyes zeroed in on the thermos Kaito was holding and he frowned, though he looked more confused than angry. "Kuroba-san?"

"I told you to call me Kaito," the magician admonished. "So what's in here anyway? I see you with one every morning." Not waiting for an answer, he lifted the thermos and took a swig of the drink inside. He'd been expecting coffee because of the smell, but what he had not expected was just how dark the coffee in question was. He gagged and spat out the mouthful. "Ack! And you drink this every morning? What's wrong with your taste buds? Or have you killed them all off already?"

Now wide awake and annoyed, Shinichi snatched his thermos from the thief and clutched it to him like a mother clutching her child to protect it from harm. "What do you mean what's the matter with me? What's the matter with _you_?"

Aoko butted in before Kaito could speak with an apologetic smile before she elbowed the magician in the ribs. "This idiot's always doing things like that. I'd recommend you pour that out and get a new cup though to be safe."

Kaito's jaw dropped. "Are you implying that I might have done something to his coffee?"

"No, I'm just warning him that you might have. I remember last time you volunteered to get everyone drinks for lunch, Saguru ended up hiccupping bubbles for a whole hour!"

"That was just once. And since when did you start calling _Hakuba_ by name?"

"Well, I told him he should call me Aoko because hearing him say Nakamori-san makes me think he's talking about my dad. Then he said I should call him Saguru. Is it a problem?"

"Oh, no, no problem," the magician said sarcastically. "And I suppose he asked you out too."

"Huh? What! No, I mean… He didn't. He was just being nice." Aoko's voice faded out as her cheeks flushed. She wouldn't have minded if the blond detective really did ask her out (maybe secretly hoped that he would). "It's none of your business anyway," she added, feeling defensive though heaven only knew why.

"It is too my business. I'm your friend. I'm supposed to look out for you."

"Which has what to do exactly with whether or not Saguru asked me out?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"No, it's not."

"Hakuba's a twit. I'd be failing in my duties as a friend if I didn't warn you against getting involved with a twit."

"He is not!" the inspector's daughter said hotly. "He certainly has much better manners than you do."

"What?! How can you even _think_ that! I've never been so insulted in my life."

"Um…"

Two pairs of eyes turned to Shinichi, who flushed and shifted his weight uncomfortably. It was always awkward being around when other people were arguing. He coughed lightly. "We still have to get to class…?"

Aoko grabbed Kaito's hand and jerked it up so she could check his watch. "There're only five minutes left before class starts! We're never going to make it!"

X

"In case you're wondering, I really didn't put anything in your coffee today."

Shinichi blinked owlishly over the top of his notebook at the young man who had just commandeered the desk in front of his. "That's…good, I guess." What kind of person started conversations by saying things like that? Maybe it was just Shinichi, but it made the guy come across a bit creepy—like walking up to someone and saying 'Hey, I decided not to shoot you today'—albeit not quite that bad. "You could have left out the 'today'."

The magician laughed. "So what're you working on there? Is it a case?" Leaning over, he peered at the neat lines of writing. Despite the fact that he was looking at them upside down, Shinichi had the distinct impression that Kaito was reading them. His suspicions were proven correct when the magician grinned. "Oh hey, that's KID's latest heist notice. I saw it in the paper. Have you solved it?"

"Not yet," Shinichi replied, rereading the lines. "I have the day, but I'm still working on the rest."

"I see." Indigo eyes sharpened. "Does that mean you're thinking of going?" As intently as he was watching the detective, he noticed the way the detective flinched at his question. Odd.

"I haven't decided yet," Shinichi said vaguely. "Probably not."

Kaito hid his surprise behind a single raised eyebrow. "But then why're you looking at the notice?"

"Hakuba-san gave it to me—"

"Ch. Of course. I should've known."

"—and I like riddles."

"Aren't you going to try to catch KID though? You know, being a detective and all."

Shinichi's gaze flicked up to meet his before darting away. If Kaito didn't know better, he would have said the detective looked embarrassed. But the expression was gone almost as quickly as it had come to be replaced by that same hint of melancholy that always seemed to be lingering in the depths of the detective's blue eyes.

"He's just a thief. I prefer to focus on solving homicide cases. Stopping killers is more important than stopping thieves."

Well, Kaito supposed that was hard to dispute. But he found he had mixed feelings about this new revelation. He agreed wholeheartedly that catching murderers was important, but he didn't particularly enjoy hearing KID referred to as 'just a thief'. Kaitou KID was his father's legacy—a legend woven by both his father and himself. Surely they deserved more recognition than '_just a thief_'. Then there was the fact that he, the great Kuroba Kaito, was never _just_ anything! How dare this detective just dismiss him like that?

But he digressed. Insult to his ego aside, he had the niggling feeling that the detective wasn't being entirely honest. Kaito had always been good at reading people. It was a skill he'd honed to a razor point over his years as both a performer and a thief, and it was telling him that Shinichi was hiding something. He wasn't lying, but there was more to it—something that troubled him.

And that really didn't make sense, considering Shinichi had only ever attended that one heist way back when.

Kaito was just considering what might be the best approach to digging for more information when Aoko appeared beside them. "So?" she asked, looking from him to the detective and back again with an expectant smile. "What'd he say?"

Oops, he'd forgotten entirely about the mission Aoko had assigned him hadn't he? "I haven't asked him yet."

Shinichi blinked. "Asked me what?"

Aoko sighed and rolled her eyes. "This baka was supposed to ask you if you wanted to join us after school. A group of us are going to have a study session at my house then go out for karaoke."

"I—can't really sing."

"It's just for fun. No one's expecting anyone to be amazing or anything," Aoko persisted. "It'll be a good chance for you to get to know some of the others."

"I'd just say yes if I were you," Kaito advised. "She's not going to let up until you do."

"You make me sound so bossy," the girl huffed, glaring at her friend.

"It's one of your most endearing qualities," the magician assured her with a winning smile of his own.

The girl only huffed. "Only you can insult someone and make it sound like a compliment. Anyway," she continued, turning back to Shinichi. "We're going straight after school, so don't leave without us, all right?" Instructions delivered, she didn't bother waiting for an answer before turning and making a beeline for Keiko, saying something about confirming who else would be going.

Shinichi watched her go with his mouth still slightly agape.

Kaito gave him a sympathetic look. "Yeah, she can be like that sometimes. I think she gets it from her dad."

"That would be Nakamori-keibu, right?"

"Yep. Cheer up. It's just karaoke. It's not like we're making you compete or anything."

The detective's breath left him in a resigned sigh. "But I really, really can't sing." Unfortunately for him, no one was listening anymore as Kaito vanished in a puff of smoke. A moment later it began to rain paper stars.

Brushing several stars off of his notebook, Shinichi was just settling back down to working on solving the heist notice when he was interrupted again. This time the interruption came in the form of a tap on his shoulder and an unfamiliar voice.

"Excuse me."

Suppressing the urge to sigh, Shinichi set his notebook down again and looked up. Beside his desk stood a rather tan young man with short, spiky hair and brown eyes. The corners of his mouth kept twitching out of their smile like it was taking him a tremendous effort to keep it there.

"You're Kudo Shinichi, right? The detective from Teitan?"

Mildly surprised by the reference to his old school, Shinichi nodded.

"My cousin goes there. She told me you were good at figuring out weird stuff."

"I guess that's one way to put it."

The boy glanced over his shoulder then lowered his voice. "It's about my little brother. He's been acting…odd. Can you help me?"

"I can try," Shinichi replied, that familiar curiosity beginning to burn. "When you say he's been acting odd, what do you mean?"

"It's—complicated. I don't know where to start."

"Then start at the beginning."

"Right. The beginning." Running a hand through his hair, the stranger glanced behind himself again. "My name is Chishima Sai. My brother, Jinta, is two years younger than me. He just started here at Ekoda. We, uh, aren't exactly close. We like really different things and we used to argue all the time. We don't anymore, but it might be because we don't spend much time together." Guilt twisted across Sai's face and he had to stop to regain control of his expression. "Sorry, sorry. It's just—"

The bell rang. He cursed. "Listen, Kudo-san, can I talk to you on Monday before classes? I'll wait for you by the gate. Please."

"I'll be there."

Relief flooded across Sai's face. "Thank you." That said, he dashed out the door to return to his own class.

X

Shinichi's thoughts lingered on the strange encounter with Chishima Sai throughout the rest of the day. He wondered why the guy had sought him out instead of Hakuba. The blonde had, after all, been at Ekoda much longer than Shinichi had. But perhaps it had to do with the cousin from Teitan he'd mentioned. Or maybe he had chosen Shinichi precisely because he was new to Ekoda? Someone who couldn't possibly have any presuppositions in regards to his fellow students. Still, the way Sai had been acting had been pretty odd as well. It wasn't your everyday kind of anxiety over a family member falling in with the wrong people or other such common concerns. He'd seemed almost scared. But of what?

The questions circled through his mind as the rest of him worked on autopilot. Slowly though, he found himself being drawn away from those familiar trails of thought by the buzz of activity around him. His fellow students talked and laughed as they worked on their homework and traded anecdotes. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been a part of something like this. The cheery atmosphere washed over him in soft waves.

Then they were all packing up and he was being towed along to the karaoke place—a leaf on a tide of life. It was all so normal that it was bizarre. But in a good way. This wasn't his world, but maybe he would be allowed to enjoy it for at least a little while.

"Come on Kudo-kun! It's your turn."

"Er, no—no, really, I can just listen—"

"No way. Everybody's gotta sing at least once!"

"That's right!

"No exceptions!"

Surrendering to the inevitable, he set his coffee on one of the many low tables scattered through their room and dragged his feet to the microphone. A terrible three minutes later, he returned to his seat on the sofa to be joined by a laughing Kaito.

"Wow, you weren't kidding. You're awful!"

He snorted. "Gee, thanks. I needed you to tell me that."

"Aw come on, don't be like that. I didn't mean it in a bad way."

Shinichi shot the magician a confused look. "How can you mean something like that in a good way?"

Kaito paused for a moment, apparently giving the question some serious thought. "That's true. I guess what I meant was that I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

Shinichi shrugged, slumping into the slightly too soft couch cushions. "Don't worry about it then. It's not like I didn't already know I can't sing. That girl over there is giving you a really strange look by the way."

Following the direction of Shinichi's gaze, Kaito grimaced inwardly. "Oh, that's Koizumi Akako. Have you met her yet? She's a witch."

"…You're joking right?"

"Nope. She tells fortunes and stuff—damn accurate, though it could be coincidence considering how vague she tends to be. Guess if you're vague enough, any prediction could be true. But she's done other things too…" He fell silent, expression pensive. Akako had said she wanted to speak with him. The prospect of another one-on-one chat with her now was about as thrilling as ever—which was to say not at all. Even so, his instincts were telling him that he shouldn't ignore her. Sighing, he stood. "I guess I'd better go talk to her. If anyone asks, tell them I'll be right back."

**TBC**


	5. The Magician and the Witch

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

* * *

**Sky Colored Eyes**

5: The Magician and the Witch

"So have you found your words, Koizumi-san?"

The crimson-haired beauty of Ekoda High regarded the magician with eyes like rubies. They were standing in the hallway of the karaoke establishment. Through the closed door, they could hear the muffled noises of their friends and classmates as they celebrated the end of the school week. Out here, however, the air was still and the lights dim, creating an almost eerie atmosphere of disconnected calm.

"It pleases you to jest," she murmured, brushing her hair over her shoulder. "But you must understand, there are some things that the words of men cannot hope to describe."

"Wouldn't that somewhat defeat the point of you telling me anything?"

"That would be up to you," the witch said a touch stiffly. "We are standing on the edge of many great changes, Kuroba-kun."

The magician raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. Instead, he folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall, waiting.

His silence seemed to unsettle the self-proclaimed witch. She hid it well, but even Akako couldn't deceive the master thief's trained eye. She closed her eyes then opened them again to give him a long, hard look.

"There is another with powers like mine here in Ekoda."

That got Kaito's attention. The casual smile didn't leave his face but his gaze sharpened. "You mean at school?"

"I do not know."

"What do they want?"

"I do not know that either."

Tilting his head slightly, Kaito studied the redhead's face, noting the barely detectable lines of frustration and unease that had crept onto her face. He had never seen Akako like this before. To be honest, it was making him uncomfortable. Was Akako of all people actually _scared_? Impossible! But then what was that shadow in her face? If it was indeed fear then he had the feeling that whatever she thought was coming or here already must be truly terrible.

Or maybe the girl had finally cracked and this was all a delusion of hers.

"So basically all you wanted to tell me was that there might be another—_witch_ in Ekoda," he said just to be sure.

"That is only the beginning."

"All right. So what else did you have on your mind?"

"I do not know what they want, but I do know that they are dangerous. They will bring—darkness. Living darkness."

"…Say what?"

Akako shook her head, her face twisting in frustration for a fraction of a second before smoothing back into inscrutability. "I can't see it yet. But I do know that you will be in the middle of it when the storm comes. You and several others." Her crimson gaze flickered to the door separating them from their classmates then back to his face. "If you are not careful, you may lose something important."

"And why are you telling me all this?"

"It is a warning."

"You mentioned others. Will you warn them too?"

A small, sardonic smile graced the witch's lips. "You are the only one who might heed my warnings."

The magician let out a bark of laughter. "You need to meet more people if I'm your only choice for a champion. Where do you feature in this anyway?"

A slender hand waved, long fingers flicking the question away as though it were a speck of dust. "I've told you all I can for now."

"Oh. In that case, I'm going back inside. You coming?" Not waiting for an answer, he turned back to the door.

"Is it really so hard for you to believe?" The words were uttered in such a quiet voice that Kaito almost didn't catch them. "That I only want for you to be careful. That I might wish for your wellbeing."

Startled despite himself, Kaito hesitated with his hand on the doorknob. He didn't know if Akako had meant for him to hear those words, but he had. Glancing over his shoulder, he found her staring straight at him. Her face was entirely devoid of expression. There she stood, straight and regal as a queen.

A queen in a time without courts, he thought. Out of place but too proud to admit it. And for the first time in his life, Kaito found himself feeling sorry for Koizumi Akako.

"No," he said into the silence, holding her gaze. "It isn't. Thank you, Ojou-san."

That said, he opened the door and stepped back into the noise and commotion of the party.

Akako remained standing alone in the hallway even after the door had shut behind him.

X

The bird was back again. Okay, she didn't know for sure if it was the same one, but it was definitely the same species. It liked to sit on the window sill outside the kitchen or the living room, preening its feathers or just pecking around, doing whatever it was birds did. At other times Ai would see it perched in the trees outside or on the edge of the roof.

Did it have a nest nearby? The thought was…kind of nice. She'd heard people say that birds liked to nest around good homes—places of safety and warmth.

A wry smile tugged at the young scientist's lips. She sure was getting sentimental these days. Who'd have thought?

"We should build a birdbath."

The professor blinked across the dinner table at the small girl seated on the other side. "A birdbath?"

She shrugged. "Might improve the scenery. The yard's been a bit bare since you set the bushes on fire with your last experiment."

The professor winced. "Not one of my best, I admit." He thought for a moment. "I know. How about a self-warming birdbath with additional sprinkler functions and the ability to monitor for infectious diseases?"

"…In the plants or the birds?"

"I'm not sure. Both if I can manage it. What do you think?"

Ai looked into the old man's happy and expectant face. "It would be…interesting." And mildly ridiculous. But the professor wouldn't be the professor if he wasn't working on something absurd. And hey, maybe this would be one of the ones that worked.

X

"And I win again!"

Groans rang around the circle as the players threw down their cards.

"Whose bright idea was it to play poker while we ate with Kuroba-kun around?" Keiko demanded.

"I believe it was yours," Hakuba said dryly. "I was against it."

"Well then you should have been against it more strongly," she huffed.

Aoko reached over to sweep all the cards back into a neat deck. "Oh come on, it's just a game. It's not like we're playing for money or anything."

"None of us are that stupid," the other girl replied. "But I still think he's cheating."

"What?" Kaito drew himself up in indignation. "I did not cheat! The fact that I am good at this game and you're not doesn't automatically mean I'm cheating."

"Yeah, whatever. I think I want another smoothie. Anyone else want one?"

Keiko jotted down the orders then hurried off, her pigtails bouncing with every energetic step.

"I think I'm going to be heading home," Shinichi said, pushing his seat back and standing up. "I still have some reading to do."

"On a Friday night?" asked Aoko. "Can't it wait?"

"No, really. I should go. But thank you for inviting me to go out with you guys today."

School bag in hand, he bowed to his classmates and turned to go only to find himself standing almost nose to nose with Kaito. He flushed and took a hurried step back.

"Before you go, you have to answer one question," the magician informed him, grinning like a shark with a birthday hat. "Did you have fun?"

"I…yes, I guess I did." The detective ducked his head to hide the smile that he could feel pulling at the corners of his lips. "I really did. Thank you guys."

"Good!" Kaito nodded, apparently satisfied. "So where do you live? I'll walk you home."

Shinichi frowned. "I'm not a little kid. I can go home by myself."

"Of course you can. But what kind of gentleman would I be if I let the new student in town go home by himself so late at night? You could get lost or run over by a bus!"

"…"

"Besides, I want to know where you live."

"Just let Kaito take you home," Aoko advised, coming up behind him and giving him a reassuring pat on the arm. "Some of the streets around here can be confusing at night. Even the locals get lost sometimes. Kaito'll make sure you get home safely. Isn't that right, Bakaito?"

"Yes ma'am, Ahoko!" Kaito threw the girl a mock salute. "The parcel will be delivered unharmed to its rightful destination!"

Shinichi looked from one to the other then back. "Don't I get a say in this?"

"Nope." Spinning around, Kaito looped an arm over Shinichi's shoulders and began to propel him out of the restaurant they had nipped into after leaving the karaoke place. "So, what's your address?"

The walk to Shinichi's apartment was surprisingly pleasant. The detective had been dreading the awkward silences and stilted conversations that usually came up when two people who didn't really know each other and had nothing in common were forced to spend time together with no job or project on which to work. In his experience, it usually resulted in two people who felt obliged to talk despite having no idea what to say and thus fragmented bits of dialogue that couldn't rightly be called conversations and a great desire for the whole situation to end. And three failed attempts to wiggle out from under Kaito's arm were not a promising start.

Contrary to his expectations, however, the awkwardness didn't last beyond the start of their journey. Kaito, it seemed, was quite the storyteller. He had a tale to tell for every shop and building they passed: some funny, some strange, and some that Shinichi felt he must have made up but which he insisted were one hundred percent true. In the blink of an eye, they had reached their destination

"I always thought your family lived in some huge mansion or something," Kaito remarked because he wasn't supposed to know where the Kudo Manor was and what it looked like and exactly how many doors and windows it had.

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but the family house is in Beika. This is my apartment." The key rattled then the door swung open. Shinichi hesitated a moment before turning back to his tagalong. Manners were manners after all. "Did you want to come in?"

His question was met by silence because the hall was empty. He blinked. He was just starting to wonder if Kaito had satisfied his curiosity about the location of Shinichi's abode and left, but that was when he heard the crash from inside the apartment kitchen. Groaning, he shut the door and ran to see if anything was broken.

He found Kaito in his kitchen with the refrigerator door open. A couple empty boxes lay scattered across the counters. As Shinichi came in, another box was dragged from the fridge and dropped beside the cold stovetop.

"Man, you seriously need to go grocery shopping. My mom would have a conniption if she ever saw your fridge. I mean, you have one apple and half a loaf of bread. Unless you're about to tell me you dine on plastic and Tupperware. You don't, do you? No wonder you're so skinny!"

"I'm still organizing," Shinichi protested, wondering why he felt like he had to defend himself against this lunatic who obviously had no respect for privacy. "I'll get the groceries when everything else is sorted out."

"And yet you have five bags of coffee beans. That makes perfect sense, I'm sure. It's all about priorities, right?"

Blushing, Shinichi shut the doors to the cupboard that Kaito had just opened and leveled the magician with an annoyed glare. "Shouldn't you be going home?"

"Mom's used to me keeping late hours, but I guess I do have a few things to tend to. Shame. I guess you'll have to show me around next time." Reaching over, he ruffled Shinichi's hair before heading back for the door with his hands in his pockets. "See you at school!"

And he was gone.

Shinichi was left staring at the empty space where the magician had been. It wasn't until he heard the door close that he snapped out of his confused daze. Shaking his head, he moved to brew himself some coffee. Talk about weird people.

X

"Heart failure?" Shinichi repeated, brows furrowing. Seated in his living room with a mug in one hand and his phone in the other, he looked out through the window at the morning sky. It was too early, but it was always too early. "Are you sure?"

"That's what the lab told us," Takagi-keiji's voice replied from the other end of the line. His words were accompanied by the sound of shuffling papers. "It's a little strange considering her medical records all indicate that she was perfectly healthy, but her father's side of the family does have a history of heart problems. The forensics team still ran every test they could think of though and the results kept coming up the same. Takamura Sakuno died of heart failure."

"And the brands?"

"They're only skin deep. They couldn't have been fun to get but they had nothing to do with her death."

"But where did they come from?"

"No one seems to know. All we've been able to find out is that she must have gotten them some time during the last month before she died. Otherwise someone on the swim team should have noticed. They haven't been practicing together recently because the school pool is being renovated."

"What about her family?"

"They're not sure. They told us that Sakuno always preferred clothes with long sleeves, and the brand on her forehead was pretty well hidden by her bangs."

Shinichi nodded then remembered that Takagi couldn't see him. "Is there anything else?"

"Well, no, not about this case. It's probably going to be classified as an accident as soon as we finish speaking to all her acquaintances."

"So there's another case?"

"Well—yes," the policeman admitted. "Do you have time to come to the station today?"

"I can come now," Shinichi offered, draining the last of his coffee in one gulp. Tucking his phone into his pocket, he headed to the kitchen to rinse his mug. Around him the apartment was silent. In the distance, he could hear the hum of traffic that the city never lacked. Just another start to another day.

A heavy sigh slipped from his lips. Why did he feel so…_resigned_? This was how life was supposed to be. Well, his life anyway. He was doing the things he'd always told himself he would—solving cases and doing his part to make the world a safer place as he slowly rebuilt his credibility as a detective. The hitch with school too had been straightened out with his transfer to Ekoda. He would finish school, get a degree, and either join the police or become a private investigator.

It was all there. So why did he still feel like he didn't know what he was doing?

Pulling on a jacket, he grabbed his keys and headed out the door. Stay busy. That was the answer. Stay busy and everything else would just fade into the background. Maybe eventually they would disappear altogether.

He wasn't running away. Of course he wasn't. After all, he had nothing to run away from. Right? He was just being practical. No point dwelling on shapeless fears he couldn't even put into words.

X

"Do you remember that armed robbery case from three months ago where the jewelry store owner's son was killed?"

Shinichi nodded. "I remember they were extremely organized. They were in and out in less than ten minutes and left almost no traces that could indicate who they were."

"That's them," Megure-keibu agreed. His expression was grim as he slid a manila folder across the desk to Shinichi. "Well, they struck again a month ago. No fatalities this time, but there was a warning shot fired. The bullets match those from the first robbery."

Shinichi frowned as he took the folder. "I didn't hear about another incident."

"We kept it quiet. Didn't want to give 'em a heads up."

Blue eyes sharpened. "You have a clue then."

"Just one." Reaching over to flip to a particular page in the folder, Megure tapped on a blurred photo. "A kid in the shop down the street took this picture on his phone. From the timeline and circumstances, we believe this man is very likely their lookout. We put some feelers out through the other local jewelry stores. Yesterday, one of the owners sent us this."

The inspector flipped to a different photo. It was of the same man seated at an outdoor café.

"Apparently he's been going to this place every day for two weeks. He could be scouting for their next target. The problem is we're not sure if or when they'll strike."

"But if we compare the exact situations from their previous robberies," Shinichi said, beginning to spread the files out across the desk, "we might be able to create the right conditions to bait them into moving in at a time of our choosing." Soon the entire surface of the desk was covered in neat stacks of paper. The empty manila folder lay discarded on Shinichi's chair. The teen himself was walking around and around the desk, brows drawn together and muttering to himself.

Megure smiled a little to himself at the sight. Honestly, he'd been a little worried about the boy he'd watched grow up. Ever since he had gotten back, Shinichi had been…different. He wasn't the same reckless, over-confident brat Megure remembered from two years ago.

He had grown more mature. He had become more focused and less interested in showing off. That air of a smart kid playing detective had gone to be replaced by a calmer kind of assurance. Megure would have said it was a good change except that it had come with… He wasn't entirely sure how to put it. A sense of distance and loss, perhaps, with a dash of weariness that no one his age should have.

The boy was getting to be too withdrawn, the inspector decided. He really should be spending more time with other people his own age. But he could understand how difficult it must be to just go back to normal life after a big case, especially when you added a new school and living arrangements into the mix. Maybe he should arrange for Shinichi to work with some of the younger officers more often.

But first they had a trap to plan.

**TBC**

* * *

**A.N**: This'll be the first story of mine where Akako has a more involved role. Now that I think about it, I completely forgot about her in Midnight White, hehe ^.^U. Not sure if anyone noticed. I'm not sure how she's coming across so far, but she's pretty interesting to write. ^_^ For some reason I've always felt that there was something a bit sad about her character. Although I guess that could just be me. Anyhow, thanks for reading, and I'll see you next time. To those for whom it matters, have a happy July 4th!


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